Will my bankruptcy 9 years ago come back to haunt me?

stressed81

Evening all.

I've recently been accepted by the HSBC for a mortgage in principal , so yesterday I made an offer on a house I have been looking at for a while. So as I understand the next step is to make a full application.

However now I'm starting to worry that my bankruptcy 9 years ago is going to put a spanner in the works even though my credit file has been clear for several years. Do you think this will be an issue in the full credit search?

Thanks for your help.

Jonathan_Stewart

It should not be an issue. They will however ask on the form if you have previously been bankrupt. Dont lie and be open and honest, if your credit over the last 6 years has been good thats all they care about.

Credit report is to show you how reliable you have been in recent times anything outside of those 6 years is not their issue.

stressed81

Thanks. I've checked my credit report and I am just over 400. Which is classed as fair on equifax. And I'll definitely be a 100$% honest when filling in the full application.

matttye

They won't see the made up credit scores. They'll only care about the information in your reports.

kingstreet

The solicitor acting for the lender (and probably for you) carries out a bankruptcy search later in the process. If you don't disclose it at application stage it will come to light later and may see you declined for non-disclosure.

As this is close to exchange of contracts, you will have invested considerable time and money to get as far as you have, so this should be avoided.

I would not choose HSBC as the "go to" lender with a historic bankruptcy, even if no record of it remains visible on your credit files.

stator

I hope you didn't owe HSBC any money when you went bankrupt

stressed81

No I have never owed a penny to the HSBC. I have spoken to the estate agent however and they don't seem to think that using HSBC in general for mortgage is a good thing. I don't know if their concerns have any merit or if it's simply to encourage us to use their preferred mortgage broker.

Yorkie1

EA mortgage brokers are, generally, less experienced and don't have access to all the lenders / products.

The standard advice is not to use them. Go for an experienced broker who will know which lenders to avoid with a historic bankruptcy on your record.

Thrugelmir

stressed81 wrote: »

they don't seem to think that using HSBC in general for mortgage is a good thing.

HSBC operate direct sales channels only and offer good rates to their target market customers. So I wouldn't dismiss them out of hand.

purple455

They won't see the made up credit scores. They'll only care about the information in your reports.

stressed81

Well we made an application , which has come back as declined. The guy at HSBC has said that he cannot disclose why due to the data protection act, but has suggest that I try to get a mortgage on my own.

I'm guessing if it's declined a mortgage broker is our only hope.